LeBlanc
Meriian, reporter extraordinaire, waited on the front lawn of Yuna
Bustamante's dormitory. The young college student was nowhere to be
found, so she decided to spruce up her appearance a bit.

LeBlanc had a
taste for the overly dramatic. Her former ensemble consisted of
purples, pinks, and a giant red heart in the middle of her chest. The
boss at the head of the network she worked for said it was "too
risqué" for the younger children who viewed the news
program. This simple and magnificently boring outfit was her new and
more 'sophisticated' look.

The blonde
woman thought the producers were turning her into her rival, Shelinda
Thompson, more and more every day.

She smoothed
down her gaudy fuchsia suit and took out a compact to check for any
cowlicks or leftover asparagus in her teeth. She was on the new all
vegetable diet. The name of it escaped her for the moment.

"Is this ok,
darling? How do I look?"

The silent
cameraman nodded his head in affirmation and continued waiting for
Miss Bustamante.

LeBlanc's
thoughts turned toward her young husband, Nooj Merivian. She couldn't
wait to she him when he returned from Kilika. He had been in the hick
village for almost two months trying to resolve some issues between
the despairing young people and the elders of the Temple. Ever since
the arrival of the Corelli kid and his medicine, the young people had
been demanding changes in the way they lived from day to day.

Most of the
work was done by the young men of the village, so they decided to go
on strike to teach the old people a lesson.

To tell the
truth, LeBlanc thought as she flicked her hair back and forth, I
don't give a damn about those backwoods morons. As long as my
Noojie Woojie comes back in one piece, I'm fine.

LeBlanc
Saint-Saëns and Nooj Merivian were married two years ago when
she was twenty-nine and he twenty-one. Her friends and associates
were worried over the nine year age difference, but she would not let
that little detail get in the way of what she thought of as true
love. The first year was hell. They had to adjust to seeing each
other all the time and waking up to the same person every morning.
But Nooj's political job kept him away most of the time, so they
were never tired of each other whenever they met. In a way, it was
more like a dating situation where both parties had their own homes
and could back away whenever things got too heavy.

She loved her
husband dearly, but there were times when she just wanted to bask in
her own beauty for a day.

LeBlanc's
cameraman whistled once he saw the now familiar profile of their
target for the day.

"All right,
baby, here she comes."

»º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º«

Yuna regretted
leaving her mailbox for this. She arrived to her dorm only to find a
gang of reporters in front of her building.

It was eerie
how still they were as she walked up to the ten story building. She
knew that as soon as she was three feet away from them, they would
throw a barrage of questions her way.

Yuna looked to
her left and right, her long rattail smacking her in the cheek with
the movement.

She wouldn't
make it if she tried to make a run for it. They would probably twist
her actions if she did so anyway. So Yuna decided to tough it out and
see what happened.

Yuna almost
did a double take once she recognized the snide mug of LeBlanc
Merivian. Paine watched all of LeBlanc's exclusive interviews just
for kicks. The woman was piercing and hard hitting. She showed no
mercy for her guests and always got a response from someone, given
willingly or not. Yuna was not looking forward to facing the
intimidating woman.

As soon as she
saw LeBlanc's start to form a question, a strong arm grabbed her
out of harm's way.

»º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º«

"Oh my gosh,
Gippal! Thank you so much!"

Yuna giggled
and gave her cousin's boyfriend a giant hug. "What are you doing
here? Weren't you at Home scheduling a dig or something?"

Home is the Al
Bhed headquarters that used to be hidden in the middle of Bikanel
Desert. After the peace treaty with
Bevelle was signed, the Al Bhed disclosed their location reluctantly.
There had been many extreme confrontations between Bevellans and the
Al Bhed. Their only reassurance was in the fact that Home was hidden
their only enemy.

She was so
excited to see him. Now, maybe her cousin would get off her back and
start clinging to Gippal again. She was starting to get annoyed with
the eighteen year old.

Gippal Casem
was the epitome of an Al Bhed man. He had their blonde hair, strange,
green eyes, and cat-like features. Because Gippal grew up in Home,
his skin was toughened up from the sun exposure and he was tall and
lean from foraging and digging through the desert.

Yuna looked
Gippal over and noticed that he had a new eye patch on. This one was
dark and shiny like a hematite stone with a barely noticeable checker
design.

She remembered
the day when Gippal lost his right eye. She and Gippal were trying to
teach Rikku how to swim. Because stayed in Home, there weren't many
opportunities for her to learn how to swim. Gippal moved away to
Zanarkand when he was fourteen, much to the chagrin of Cid and Rikku.

Rikku was just
got the hang of floating when she decided to take a break. She was
lying down on a lounge chair watching Yuna dive when some guy tried
to hit on her. Yuna had never seen anyone so jealous in her
life.

One thing led
to another and the man whipped out a pair of brass knuckles and
punched the guts out of Gippal's eye. He had to be hospitalized
immediately. But even their expedience couldn't save his eye.

Yuna shook
herself out of her reverie and brought her self back to the present.
Gippal had gotten more tan as well.

"I came back
three days ago," Gippal started, "but then Rikku kicked me out
again last night." His jaw tightened with the thought of their most
recent argument. She was certain that the reason why he never took
her anywhere with him was because he had a little extra on the side.
That wasn't the case, of course, but one couldn't convince Rikku
otherwise when her mind was made up. The reason why she never tagged
along was because she was too loud and didn't think to cover
herself up every once in a while. He actually made the mistake of
saying that out loud and that opened another can of worms.

Gippal tousled
his dirt-blonde hair awkwardly as he thought about the argument. "I'd
rather not talk about it here, if you don't mind."

"Sure."
Yuna stated, while trying not to look too sympathetic. Gippal hated
people feeling sorry for him. "Anything you want after saving my
skin like that."

"How 'bout
you treat me to a burger and fries. I'm kinda strapped for cash
right now." Gippal scratched his head again — he seemed to be
doing that a lot lately. "I left my wallet and other valuable
objects back at the house."

»º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º«

Dingo Dango
was a beloved burger joint in Downtown Bevelle. It was established
about fifty years ago and was still as popular as it was back then.
Its signature logo consisted of a goofy looking water flan with
bucked teeth and huge eyes named Boingo. Every commercial was about
Boingo's never ending quest to taste a Dingo Dango burger. Recently
they had been a little bit dry and not funny, but Yuna still ate
there.

As far as Yuna
was concerned, Dingo Dango was the ultimate authority figure on
burgers, and should be the only burger place in all of Spira. They
were cheap, good, and dependable.

Yuna didn't
like talking while she ate. Most of her friends seemed to respect
that fact, expect Rikku of course.

The two were
almost done with their meal when a familiar face walked in.

"Oh, Yuna!
I haven't seen you since. . . I
haven't seen you in ages!" The man shouted across the small room.

"Oh no,
Gippal, it's that kid Donnie I told Rikku about."

Gippal
remembered her stories about the weird guy who worshipped her
underwear on a nightly basis until she moved away.

"Apparently
he's into chocobos now."

Yuna didn't
want to talk to him now, or ever.

Donnie slowly
walked over to where Yuna was sitting. His hesitation was due to the
fact that there was a strange guy sitting with her. He'd never she
him before anywhere. He was also looking like he could crush his head
if he tried anything on Yuna.

Gippal eyed
the man walking across the room. His hair was ruffled and he was
looking a bit rough around the edges. Not to mention a pungent stench
that was coming off of him from at least five feet away.

"Do you want
me to get rid of this guy for ya?"

Yuna nodded
her head vigorously. It seemed like it was Gippal's day for
rescuing her, and her day for needing rescuing.

Just then,
Gippal gently grabbed her neck and started to play with her hair. She
had to admit that she was a little surprised, but whatever got her
out of the situation was fine.

She started to
blush a shiny crimson when his calloused fingers tickled up her neck.

Donnie got the
picture and decided to leave her alone. "Ok. . . well, I guess I
see y—"

Just as he was
about to exit the establishment, the bell rang and he bumped into a
petite figure.

"Well, hello
there beautiful. Can I get—" Donnie was cut off by a sharp thrust
to the stomach. Apparently, 'beautiful' was as angry as he was to
see the two canoodling at their table.

»º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º«

Calm down,
Rikku, just calm down.

She stopped by
Yuna's dorm only to see a swarm of reporters on the lawn. Paine
shoved through the confusion stating that she was going to the gym to
let off some steam. Rikku asked where Yuna was and Paine suggested
that she was probably hiding from the 'blithering idiots'
gathered on her lawn.

Rikku went to
Yuna's house just to talk about her fight with Gippal. The girl
completely forgot the upcoming trial and Yuna's involvement in it.
She knew she needed to tone down her jealous tendencies, but
Rikku remembered how much of a playboy he was back at Home. Gippal
would flirt all his life if he was given the chance. He couldn't
stay away from a beautiful female face no matter what. Yuna told her
he tried to get into her pants when they first met, but then he
realized that the two of them were cousins.

She was
anticipating his arrival for weeks. He called her about two weeks
before he knew when he was coming back. She had been so excited that
she didn't stop to think why he never called her before. Normally
when his digs lasted for months she would get to talk to him at least
three times a week. Sometimes a sand storm would stop him, but he
would call eventually.

It was just a
few days before his arrival when the wheels in her mind started to
click. She put together scenarios and analyzed imaginary suspicious
pauses in his speech. She dreamt up some gorgeous Al Bhed girl who
knew everything about machines and was interested in organizing digs
and didn't nag as much as she did. Pretty soon that dream became
real and Rikku began to see her in every female she saw on the
streets.

She even
snapped at a girl in Yuna's dorm who was known for her promiscuous
ways and success with the boys. The girl was just talking to one of
her friends about how she slept with some guy who already had a
girlfriend in a unisex bathroom. She was bragging about it for at
least fifteen minutes before Rikku walked over and hit her with a
barrage of Al Bhed curse words.

Her jealousy
had definitely gotten the best of her when she accused Gippal of
bringing another woman in their small house. Her foundation was a
loaf of bread that was leaning to the left and a well-trodden
floorboard in the living room.

It was stupid
of her, but how would it look if she all of a sudden took her words
back and actually admitted that she was wrong?

So Rikku
decided to ask for Yunie's advice. She may not have had many
boyfriends, but Yuna seemed to be wise enough. Plus, she had helped
her with her first breakup with Gippal.

So when Paine
told her that Yuna was gone, she left her car in the parking lot and
started the short walk to Dingo Dango's. She knew it was Yuna's
favorite burger place. Rikku also knew that Gippal would try to come
home again, so she figured the free food would butter Yuna up before
she asked to stay at her place for the night.

She opened the
glass door of Dingo Dango's only to see that same cousin gushing
over that same jerk, Gippal.

Never mind
that idiot at the door, or the staring customers. Yuna, over there,
with her Gippal?! Was she going insane?

Just walk
over, calmly and slowly. Don't make more of a scene than you've
already had, Rikku.

»º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º«

"Oh shit.
I'm in for it now."

Gippal set his
head on the beige table. His hearing wouldn't be the same after
this one-sided yelling match.

"Hey Yunie.
Hello Gippal." Rikku had a very
scary smile plastered on her face. To their audience, she looked
perfectly amiable, but to them, they could see the maliciousness and
anger behind it.

"How's it
going guys?"

Yuna gulped
and replied, "Everything's fine. Um, hey, this," Yuna pointed
between herself and Gippal for effect, "is not what it looks
like."

"You know,
Yuna, I expected this from Gippal, but not from you."

Gippal scoffed
when she said this. "Is that what you think about me?" He turned
to Yuna. "The reason why she thinks I'm cheating is because some
area on the living floor has been walked on. And, according to her,
she doesn't wear her heels in that spot, so that must mean
that some woman was in the house when she wasn't there."

Rikku started
to interrupt him but he held out his finger. "Then, get this,"
Gippal laughed scornfully, "because the bread was leaning to the
left, she thought some left-handed woman was there."

By this time,
Gippal was furious. He had told her before that if her attitude
didn't change, then he would leave. "She never once thought that
maybe there was axel grease on my right hand, or that one of my
friends was left-handed." He was trying his best to keep his voice
down, but it wasn't working. "I guess that never crossed your
mind did it?"

"Well,"
Rikku started shakily, "I remember a time when you would
jump into any girl's pants if you were sure you had the chance!"

"I remember
that that was a long time ago." Gippal retorted. "I also remember
that I chose your pants to get into."

Things were a
little quiet after that and it seemed like the whole establishment
was looking at the tiny drama unraveling itself at the beige table.

Yuna started
to feel uncomfortable, so she got up to leave.

"You stay
right there." Gippal stated. "Some guy was trying to bother you
and I was just helping. Rikku is going to apologize because she
realizes this and the fact that you nor I would never do that to
her."

Yuna sat down
immediately. She looked to a now teary-eyed Rikku.

"I'm
sorry, Yunie. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"Apology
accepted, Rikku."

Yuna was
seriously wondering when she could leave. She had somewhere to be in
an hour.

"I'm
telling you Rikku, I won't stand for this again."

"I know."

"Most guys
would have left by now."

"I know."

"I think
it's time for me to leave, Rikku."

"No please
don't do that!"

Now Yuna
really wanted to leave, she knew exactly where this line of
conversation was going. Pretty soon they would be slobbering all over
each other.

Yep, I was
right.

Those two
really had no self control. They were in a public place full of
people, children even, and they were going at each other's
throats, romantically speaking.

Yuna
high-tailed it out of Dingo Dango's as fast as her feet would carry
her. On her way to her appointment, she swore to herself to never put
two people together. They would only end up blaming her for their
problems.

»º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º•º«

A/N:

ThePirateJilt:
That's my problem with this
story. In the game, Tidus went through near death situations and the
fact that his could-be girlfriend was supposed to die.
Even through all of that, his very rambunctious personality still
showed. There were some dull spots, but he was still positive. In
this story, Tidus is facing a for-sure death situation, but he's
all sullen and whatnot.

I suppose I'm trying to fit Tidus
into something he isn't, but it works for this story (at least in
my mind it does). So he's going to stay borderline genius, even
though I know that that's stretching a little too much, and he will
be calm for the most part. A possible note of interest would be this
quote from the last chapter:

"They
loved how he could be loud and flamboyant in one second and meek and
well-behaved the next."

So
does this work or at least alleviate the blatant OOC-ness? It
probably doesn't mean much now, but I'll keep it in mind and try
to make it work now that you've pointed out the problem.

Also, I was
going to have a meeting in this chapter, but I thought that this
would be a good place to end. I'm going back to school this week so
there won't be any internet connection going on here for a few
days. My schedule is ridiculous for real this time around. I'm also
thinking about getting a job, so I'll try really hard but I don't
know about updates for this semester.

LeBlanc's
last name came from the French composer, Camille Saint-Saëns. He
is most recognized for his composition, The Carnival of the Animals.
My favorite sections from it are "The Swan" and "Aquarium".

BTW, in the
first Austin Powers, they said that they saved Dr. Evil's semen and
created a son for him. But in the second part, there's this memory
where Frau (sp) basically says she's pregnant. So how is that
possible? And how old is Scott then? Just wondering.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.